(1) Field of Invention
This invention relates to thermal heating and cooling systems for generating, storing and circulating warm and cool air primarily for residential use. More particularly it relates to heat storage and cooling apparatus for homes.
(2) Description of Prior Art
The high cost of utilities has spurred on many efforts to collect solar energy for heating purposes. Similar attempts have been made to utilize rocks or earth for the storage of heat or cold for future use. However, most of the prior art has been single purpose in that the systems developed have addressed solely the collection and storage of heat or the collection and storage of cold air. Few systems have been addressed to both objectives. By far, the majority effort has dealt with heating objectives with less emphasis on the cooling aspects. Further, the systems that have evolved in the prior art have been designed solely to collecting or storing energy, with little or no thought given to other possible utilitarian objectives such as structural support.
Many different media have been used for the storage of heat or cold. Rock has been used for heat storage and the earth, as well as extensive underground ducting, has been used for the generation of cool air. The inefficency or the high cost of most such apparatus has limited their large scale utilization by the general public. Many systems are not only expensive to install but pose maintenance problems as well.
Many of the thermal heat storage systems in the prior art failed to provide for the generation of cool air as an alternative mode of operation. Those systems which did include this alternate mode, did so inadequately.
Although berming is not new in the art, the technique has been used only in a limited fashion. Usually it has been used independently in improving thermal retentivity by piling earth partially around the outside walls of a home. None of the prior art, as reviewed by this inventor, has utilized the full potential of energy savings. His technique could provide for homes built on concrete slabs with topography unsuited to conventional berming treatments, an area not adequately explored in the prior art.
Prior art known to this inventor includes the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 965,391, 7/1910, Little; 4,024,910, 5/1977, Werner; 4,121,764, 10/1978, Hope et al; 4,138,061, 2/1979, Besack; 4,149,520, 4/1979, Arent; 4,160,443, 7/1979, Brindle; 4,173,304, 11/1979, Johnson; 4,196,719, 4/1980, Skrivseth; 4,207,868, 6/1980, Peterson.